The Trek Madone 6.9 Road Bike

The paint for the Trek Madone 6.9 road bike is definitely eye-catching but the execution left a lot to be desired. If you go to the trouble and expense of a personal paint job it should be perfect. On the Trek Madone 6.9 the top tube decal is off-center and, as the head tube is there to act as a reference point, you will notice it every time you ride.

The Trek Madone 6.9 fork features an integrated crown race and alloy tips with huge 'lawyer' tabs. The paint masking is average but the carbon finish on the 'asymmetric' steerer tube is exceptional.

An impressive finish on the clincher hooks makes a great first impression. The Aeolus no longer uses paired spoking which will make truing the wheels easier. The skewers use a titanium shaft although their 121 grams weight suggested otherwise.

Both the bottom bracket and head tube of the Trek Madone 6.9 feature bearing seats that are moulded from carbon-fiber and the former is fitted with Enduro ceramic bearings. Every bolt on the frame was treated with either grease or thread lock and the entire bike has clearly been built with attention to detail. The derailleur hanger was straight too.

Why is there such a huge cassette on the Trek Madone 6.9? It's already fitted with a compact crankset so the 28-tooth sprocket will never see any use. The jump to the largest cog from the 24-tooth sprocket is huge and not as smooth as we would expect from Dura-Ace. After a brief test ride the handlebar slipped in the stem, even though the bolt were torqued to the specified 5.2Nm and thread-locked in place.

The internal cable routing on the Trek Madone 6.9 is very well designed and takes advantage of the aesthetic benefits of such an arrangement without adverse effect on the shift or brake functions. There aren't any liners on the Trek Madone 6.9, which would usually be a disaster, but clever hardware, access ports and an opening near the bottom bracket make assembly of the Madone 6.9 straightforward. It doesn't take any longer to build than a fully external bike.